Cushion for mouthpieces of musical instruments.



A. & H. ERDAHL. V CUSHION FOR MOUTHPIEGES OF MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS. APPLICATION FILED JUNE 6, 1913.

1,101,420, Patented Jun 23, 1914w fig.. 5-

Henry Erdaivb.

ALFRED ERDAHL AND HENRY ERDAI-IL, OF BLUE EARTH, MINNESOTA.

CUSHION FOR MOUTHPIECES OF MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed. June 6, 1913.

Patented June 23,1914.

series No. 772,173.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that we, ALFRED ERDAHL and HENRY ERDAHL, citizens of the United States, residing at Blue Earth, in the county of Faribault and State of Minnesota, have invented new and useful Improvements in Cushions for Mouthpieces of Musical Instruments, of which the following is a speci fication.

The invention relates to musical instruments and attachments therefor, and has for an object to provide a combined cushion and holder for use on instruments which must be inserted in the mouth in order to be properly played.

The invention embodies, among other features, a device more particularly adapted for use on reed instruments such as clarinets and saXophones and includes a device whereby the instrument will not only be rigidly held in the mouth but whereby the vibration from the reeds will be taken up by the cushion of the device so that the teeth of the player will not receive the jars or vibrations of the reeds. The device also permits of producing a better and softer tone when it is used in connection with clarinets and Saxophones, and further prevents the instrument from sliding backward and forward in the mouth when it is being played upon by the player.

In the further disclosure of the invention reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, constitutnig a part of this specification, in which similar characters of reference denote corresponding parts in all the views, and in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the mouthpiece of a clarinet, showing our device applied thereto; Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view showing the manner of mounting our device on the structure disclosed in Fig. 1; and Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the device removed from the mouthpiece disclosed in Fig. 1.

Referring more particularly to the views, we disclose a mouthpiece 10 adapted for use in connection with a clarinet or other similar musical instrument, the said mouthpiece having the usual clamp 11 arranged to encircle the same and secured to the mouth piece by means of suitable screws 12 form ing a part of the clamp.

Our device consists of a supporting plate 13 provided with a plurality of apertures let through which the screws 12 are adapted to pass to rigidly secure the plate 18 to the clamp 11. The upper end of the supporting plate 13 terminates in a lateral extension 15 on which is carried a cushion plate 16 having connected to its free end a suitable cushion 17 preferably formed of rubber or any other suitable material and lying adjacent to the usual opening 18 formed in the mouth end of the mouthpiece 10.

Now it will be apparent that in the use of the device described, when the mouth end of the mouthpiece 10 is inserted in the mouth of the player, the teeth of the player will engage the cushion 17 thus not only aiding in supporting the instrument to which the mouthpiece is attached in playing position, but also permitting of restricting the opening 18 for the purpose of varying the notes or producing a softer tone. By having the teeth of the player in engagement with the cushion, the vibrations of the reeds usually forming parts of saxophones and clarinets will not affect the teeth of the player and the mouthpiece of the instrument can therefore be more firmly gripped in the mouth and prevented from slipping forward or backward therein.

Having thus described our invention, we claim:

1. As a new article of manufacture, a cushion and holder for a musical mouth instrument, the mouthpiece of which has a flat face, consisting of a supporting plate for connection with the mouthpiece of the instrument and a cushion supported on the plate and lying against the flat face of the mouthpiece.

2. In a cushion and holder for musical mouth instruments, a clamp-carrying mouthpiece, a supporting plate rigidly carried on the clamp, a lateral extension formed at one end of the plate, a cushion plate on the extension, and a cushion on the plate and engaging the mouth end of the mouthpiece.

In testimony whereof we afiix our signatures in presence of twowitnesses.

ALFRED ERDAI'IL. HENRY ERDAHL. VVit-nesses ABsALoN ERDAHL, EDWIN GULLoRD.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0. 

